Fuel charger for gas generators



Dec. 30, 1930. Y F. B. HAYES ,248

' FUEL CHARGER FOR GAS GENERATORS Filed July 17. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 1,J/Az 4 ll TL. h 15 :s-= A 7 lm ,F? 2 612 2502*. Jfreql 3. flac es, QWWW3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 30, 1930. F.- B. HAYES FUEL CHARGER FOR GASGENERATORS Filed July 1'7. 1929 Dec. 30,?1930. F. B. HAYES v 1,787,248

FUEL CHARGER FOR GAS GENERATORS Filed July 17, 19.29 3 Sheets-Sheet 5Patented Dec. 30," 1930 metres ewes PATENT ersist I I FRED B.HAYEaorroRrwA iinINDIAN AssreNoR TO rnEeAstmcHINER-Y coivri may,OF'GVLEVEL'AND, OHIO, A CORPORATION or 01:10

: FUEL CHARGER FOR GAS GENERATORS Application filed' July 17, 1929.Serial No. 378,875.

V with the operation of the gas set.

Oneobject of the'invention is to so construct the charger that-the fuelreceiving opening of the generator nozzle normally will-be sealed andwill be opened automatically when the with fuel. I v I Another object isto produce means for v automatically spreading the "fuel beingchargedfinto' the generator 'toinsure proper distribution of'the fuelover the fire bed.

' Another object is to provide a movable fuel containerconnected withthe charger and op'er'atively connected with the fuel spreading andgenerator sealing means, whereby the proper fco-ordinated' actuationofjsaid parts is insured. The movable fuel container: has anopening forthe reception V offuel from a 'cionvey'or," and closure means for saidopening.

The closure means are also operatlvely connected with the generatorsealing means so'that' said container door will be closed before thegenerator sealing means V is opened-and the fuel-contalner 1s moved tocharging position. Thus, while the fuelcon tamer is movable relatlve tothech'arger' body, it is an integralpart thereof, and generator pressureis maintained the c harging period."

The design of the fuel hopper and nozzles leading fromthe hopperto thebody of the charger is such that stop'page 0f ooal'or coke is prevented.The'mova'blehopper and nozzlefs render itpractical to usela lowtype'conveyor,foicarrying tlie fuelto the' hopper. p 7 The' meansfforspreading the fuel as it I i the generator opening, is operativelyconenters the generator, also'acting as a'seal for ne'etedwith the fuelcontainer,and the latteracts acounterbalance for the'spreader,

and insures the return of -the spreader to its sealing'p'osition whenthe generator is not being charged with fuel. This is of great j advaagebecausefshouldthe hydraulic pressur r g V I spreader ifa'il, 7 theyspreader Wlll be returned to its closed or'tigh't position by the weightother means for operating the generator .is to be" charged even duringofthe hopper. Thereby the spreader is saved vision of operativeconnections between the spreader actuating mechanism and themechanismvfor actuating the hopper door, which prevents thespreader discbeing lowered beforethehopper door is closed.

1n the drawings;

'Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of an automatic fuel chargerembodying my invention, the; parts being shown in loading position.

FigureQ is a View similar to Figure 1, but showing the parts in chargingposition.

c Figure 3is a" plan view of the construction shown in Figure l.

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure1, looking downwardly as indicated by the arrows.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

In that embodiment of my invention shown connected with the hop-* inthedrawings, 5 indicates a track on any cross section and tapering at 8toward an opening adapted to fit over the opening in the top of thegenerator nozzle A.

' ,At opposite sides the charger body 8 is provided with horizontallydisposed tubular extensions 9," in each of which is mounted one end ofthe rotatablenozzles 10 leading from V the hopper '11 to the chargerbody members 9.

2 The' inner surfaces of each of the tubular eXte'nsions 9 are providedwith an annular shoulder '12 for the end-of the nozzle 10 to bearagainst and packing 13 between the extension incur her 9 and nozzle 10to form a pressure tight fit between saidparts while permitting rotationof the nozzles in said tubular'ex'tension That part of thewall of thenozzle 10 which forms the side toward the left inFigures 3 and l, whenthe hopper is in loading position, and which forms th'elower or fuelsupport, ing wall portion when the hopper has beenraisedtolchargingposition, as shown in Figure 2, extendsatappro-Ximately a 45 angle to a horizontal plane, Asemi-circumferential lip 10 is formed on theend of the nozzle 10,adjacentsaid inclined wall of the nozzle,

5 for the purpose of providing a concentric bearing surface on thenozzle for co-opera- 'Ition with the tubular extension 9 on theelmrger'body 8." Saidinclined portion of the nozzle wall has beendesignated aslOa and its form-is such thatwhen the hopper11 is inraised-position, fuelwill'slide easily over the inner surface of thehopper and nozzle, down-- wardly'and inwardly toward the charger body S'andthenceintO the generator nozzle A. When the hopper 11 is in raisedorcharg ing position, the" surface at the lower .end of the nozzle,indicated at -10b, will be in alignmerit -with the, tapered surface 8;;ofthe charger body. This is best shown in Figure o-zfrom'which-it will,be seen that'fuel willslide downwardly and inwardly over a smoothunobstructedsurface' nto the generator nozzle A.

; The fuel 'hopper 11 which is rigidly-secured i to one end of eachofsaid nozzles 10"has a' I division-plate :14 extending upwardly from"its bottom'wall 15 to a height indicated by 7 the line 16 in Figurel.This division plate .rll divides the hopper 11- into two passage ways,eachcommunicat ng with a' nozzle 10,

' and insures the equal distribution 7 of the fuel as itis being loadedinto the hopper: v

Centrally located in the top wall of the hopper-11, that'is, at thejunction of the legs 7 of'the' hopperand abovethe division plate-'14.-is-a circular opening 17 adapted to be The charger V 7 p 4 the?generator nozzle'Aywhen the carriage 7 closedby the sliding door '18.Thedoor 18 I is actuated the hydraulic cylinder 19 and "rack-20 meshingwiththe pinion 21. operatively connectedwith the rack and pinion vjisin-position, by clamps 23, three being usu ally employed.

VA'fuel-spreader a shaft and a a spreader disc is mountedin the charger.

The top wallofit-he charger bodyld'has' a rigidiy'from the charger body8. i

7 whentheoperating mechanism is released for lubricating means 27 areprovided; The' spreadershaftM is actuated by an hydrau licloper'atingcylinder 28 in which the piston 29 connected to the 'topiof the "shaft241 is slidably mounted. The cylinder 28 issupported: .y a suitableframe 28 extending About midway between its ends, at a point just belowthe hydraulic cylinder 28, when the shaft 24 is in its raised position,there is rigidly attached to said shaft 24 a two-arm bracket 30: l The'a -in's :of this bracket 30 extend horizontally and radiallyfrom theshaft 2% toward the hopper :11. To each arm; of

the bracket 30i-issecured onegend of a steel cable 31, looped overfapulleyi 82 ,which is looselymounted on a shaft supported bracket33,1located' above the bracket 30 and rigidlysecuredto the frame '28, orother suitable support. r he cable 31 extends downwardly fronithe pulley32V to another pulley 34 onthe frame and'then' extends vdownco-ordinate{the hopper rnovement "and spreader actuation.

87 indicates a sight cock, 38 an 'inspection I door,; 39 a hand wheelfor operating the mechanism forraising and lowering the charger bodyrelative to'the carr age. 40=is aspring securedto the carriageand to thebottom of the hopper for} facilitating the re turn movement oftheshopper. [fl-1 is a land; lng lug orsupport for receiving the hopperany reason; a a

I 1A fuel conveyor is indicated TatlQ, and

a conveyor oh ut'e at d3, the latter being pivotally'mountedon a' shaft44 on which is also mounted a lever 45 havinga counterweight. 46 on oneof its arms. 'An arm 473cm thehop "per 11 alternately contacts-with thechute- 43 and the lever 4C5 for, lowering and raising tliejchute. Thusthe chute is raised by the hopper arm47and the way is cleared for thehop-per" to assume charging position.

The operationof the device is as follows The hydraulic cylinder 28 isvoperatively' connected withfthe control mechanism of a conventionalblue-gas or water gas set. Nor;

mally spreader "shaft 24' is in its raised positionlas shown'in Figurel'so that the spreader :disc 25is seated in theiop'e'ning in the taperedportion 84'ofthecharger body 8,

thereby sealing the generator nozzle opening. The hopperll and nozzle's10;ar'efalso in theirv lowered positioniand in this position the door 18forjthehopper' openingl'iiiiay-loe opened. This is accomplished,automatically by operative 1 connections between? the hy a c 9Gwardly-to where its end s firmly secured to chopper acts as acounterbalance for facilitatnism of the set, or by. operativeconnections between the hydraulic cylinders 19 and 28.

The fuel may be loaded intothe hopper 11 by the conveyor 42 and chute 43the latter being in its lowered position as shown in Figure 1;

The fuel being loaded into the hopper will be divided by the plate 14and will be ready to slide downwardly through each leg of the hopper tothe nozzles 10; I

' At a predetermined time the hydraulic mechanism will actuate thespreader shaft 24, whereby-the spreader disc willbe lowered, the ends ofthe cables 31 attached to the bracket 'will be drawn downwardly with theshaft 24, thereby raising the hopper 11 but first the hopper door 18will have been closed so that pressure within the generator will .bemaintained during the charging pe-' riod. The raising'of the hopper 11'causes the nozzle 10 to have rotative movement in the tubular extensionmembers '9 of the charger body'8 and bring the inclined walls 10a towardthe bottom, and the fuel will slide freely downwardly and inwardlythrough the nozzles,vand through the charger body to the curved uppersurface of'the spreader 25 by which it is distributedfover the fuel bed.I

When the charging operation has been completed thejspreader will be 1automatically raised by the hydraulic operating'cylinder 28 which isoperatively connected to the control mechanism, of the gas set and thehopper and nozzlesfwill beflowe'red. The

ing the hopper.

' Evenif the hydraulic pressure the-cylinder 28 should fail, the weightof thehop- I per, 1by 'assunn'ng its lowered position and through itsoperative connections with the spreader would insure retaining thespreader shaft 1n its raised position and consequent I sealing of thegenerator opening by the disc "25. "The position of the hopper readilyindicates to the operator the. position of the disc 25; in r- Instead ofusing a hopperll having two 1 legs and two nozzles,'each rotatablymounted in a tubular extension .9, it is feasible to I use'a singlehopper,the nozzle of which may bemovably mounted'in the charger body 8so as to be capable of being raised and low- 7 'eredfby the same kind ofmechanism used connection with the twinnozz'les. I 'this'connection, itwill alsobe understood that the operative connection between the hopperand spreader shaft 24 may comprise any suitable gearing which maybesubstituted for the cable connections or .for the hydraulic operatingcylinder and cable con- 'nection's;

In some of the appended claims, the words fuel container have been usedto indicate the parts herein described as a hopper and nozzles, and itwillbe understood that said '1. A mechanical fuel charger comprising acharger body having an opening therein to register with the fuelreceiving opening of a generator, a fuel container movably mounted inthe charger body and in continuous communication with the interiorthereof, hopper-closure means for the fuel container," closure means forthe opening in the charger body, means for actuating the closure meansfor the charger opening, and operative connections between the movablefuel container and said closure means for the'charger opening. 1 V

v .2; A mechanical. fuel charger comprising a charger body-having anopening therein to register with the fuel receiving opening of agenerator, a fuel container movably mounted inthe charger body and incommunication with the interior thereof, closure means for the fuelcontainer, closure means for the opening in the charger body, means foractuating the closure means. for the charger opening, andoperative'connections 7 between the movable fuel container and saidclosure means for the charger opening, whereby said charger body openingis sealed when the movable fuel container is in noncharg ng posit on,said closure means for the charger comprising a. d sc adapted to seatinsaid opening,canda vshaft extending ,up- 7 wardly from the disc, andsaid operative connections between the fuel container and said closuremeans including a cable connected to the fuel container and the shaft.

3. A mechanical fuel charger comprising a charger body having anopening" therein to register wlth the fuel receiving opening of agener-ator, a fuel container movably 'mounted in the charger body and incommunication with the interior thereof, movable closure means for thefuel container, closure means for the opening in the charger body, meansfor actuating the closure means for the charger opening, said fuelcontainer comprising a hopper having two legs, each extending towardopposite sides of the charger body, and a curved nozzle secured toeachhopper leg for connecting it to said body. I

4. A mechanical fuel charger comprising 1a charger body having anopening therein llO 10 ing, andwineans for actuating, the closure meansfonthefuel container, said closure means for the fuel container and saidclosure means for the charger body opening being connected incooperative relation-Ito permit the" opening of the former only when thelatter are closed; 7 V r,

5. A mechanic'alfuel charger comprising a charger body having an openingtherein to register With the'fuel'receiving opening of a generator, a'fuel container movably mounted in the charger body' and incommunication with the interior thereofllinovable closure means ior thefuel container,

closure means for theopening in thecharger I body," and meansjoforactuating the closure means for the charger opening, said fuel containercomprising a fuel receiving hopper having anfinclined nozzle formed:Witliiitll inwardlyextending journaL'a'nd the charger .beingformed witha-bearing Within Which" thechargerinozzle journal ismounted.

* 6. Ame'chanical fuel charger comprising alchargerbody having {anopening therein to register with the 'fuel receiving opening of agenerator, a fuel" container movably sides of the chargerfbo'dy, and acurved 1102- mountedin the charger body; and in comnuni'c'ation; withthe interiorthereof, closure 7 means for the fuel container, closuremeans for the'openingin the charger body, ineans for actuatingtheclosure means for the charger opening, and operative connections betweenthe movable fuel containerand said closure means for the charger openng, said fuel container comprising a hopper haying two legs, eachextendng toward opposite zle se'cured toeach hopper leg for connecting itt'osaid body, and the charger body having a: pairoftubular extensions on013- posite sidesthere'of to receive said nozzles.

i Iii-testimony, that I claim theforegoing,

as my} invention,v I" aflixi my signature, this 9th day of July, 1929.

FBEDB, HAYES.

